Bizarrely, a violent procession of almost 100,000 angry poor, indigenous farmers and others in Mexico, is implicitly celebrated in today’s seemingly benign #stampoftheday., a 4-cent stamp, issued on September 16, 1960, that honors the 150th anniversary of Mexican Independence.

The stamp pictures the bell that Father Miguel Hidalgo supposedly rang on September 16, 1810 when he urged people in the small town of Delores to rebel against their Spanish rulers. This call led to a massive uprising in which almost 100,000 people marched south, attacking many cities where they killed many affluent residents, most of them people of Spanish and mixed ancestry. The rebels reached the outskirts of Mexico City but were defeated by smaller but better armed and trained Spanish forces, who later captured and executed Hidalgo.

Here’s a bit more of the story. Hidalgo was the son of criollos (people of Spanish descent), and (along with his brother) was ordained as a priest. After he was ordained he taught at (and later was dean of) the Colegio de San Nicolás Obispo in Valladolid, one of the colony’s most important colleges, from 1779 until he was ousted in 1792 for pushing a variety of reforms. The church then sent him to first to Colima near the coast and then to Dolores (about 500 miles southwest of Brownsville, Texas).

Overwhelmed by the poverty he saw, he tried to teach poor farmers how to grow more lucrative crops, such as olives and grapes. But this got him in troubled with authorities who had banned such cultivation because they didn’t want local products competing with imports from Spain. When famine hit, he pressed Spanish merchants to release stored grain. They refused because they wanted to wait and sell the grain when shortages drove prices even higher. Hidalgo also began working with critics of the current government, which was dominated by European-born Spaniards who had overthrown the Spanish Viceroy.

Fearing that he would be arrested, on September 15 Hidalgo had allies force the local sheriff to release about 80 prisoners. The next morning (September 16) he used the church bells to summon about 300 townspeople to Mass, where he gave a famous speech, known as the Grito de Dolores (Cry of Dolores), calling the people of his parish to leave their homes and join with him in a rebellion against the government. While there’s no formal record of the speech, most account suggest that he emphasized his loyalty to the Catholic religion, railed against bad government, and, in statements made famous over the years, said “Viva Mexico!” and “Viva la independencia!”

His call sparked an outpouring of support from thousands of natives who had been oppressed for many years. Over time, he gathered an army of nearly 90,000 poor farmers and Mexican civilians who easily took cities and towns, where they attacked and killed more affluent Spanish and mixed-ancestry residents. In late October, the ragtag army left what is now Morelia and began heading for Mexico City, about 265 miles south of Dolores. They made it to the city’s outskirts but Hidalgo did not press the attack, perhaps because he feared how his troops would fare when faced with well-armed and well-trained Spanish soldiers.

Instead he retreated to Guadalajara, about 330 miles northwest of Mexico City, where, in December, he established an alternative government. He abolished slavery and banned tribute payments that the Indians had to pay to their creole and peninsular lords. He tried to send a representative of the insurgent government to the US but that person was captured and executed. During this time, insurgent violence mounted in Guadalajara. While indiscriminate looting was avoided, the insurgents targeted the property of creoles and Spaniards, regardless of their political affiliation and citizens loyal to the viceregal government were seized and executed. In late December Hidalgo and his followers were excommunicated and in a decisive January battle just outside the city, Hidalgo and his almost 100,000 soldiers were defeated by a smaller, but better trained and equipped royalist force of about 6,000 men. Hidalgo and his supporters retreated to Saltillo, more than 400 miles to the northeast where, in March 1811 Hidalgo was betrayed, captured, defrocked, and executed.

Mexico did not win its independence for another 10 years when an insurgency led by Agustín de Iturbid entered Mexico City on September 27, 1821. For a while, independence celebrations varied between the two days. But leaders of the early 20th century Mexican Revolution, decided to honor the more liberal Hidalgo over the more conservative Iturbide, so September 16, 1810 became the officially recognized day of Mexican independence. Since that time, every year on the night of September 15, the president of Mexico re-enacts the Grito from the balcony of the National Palace. The president also rings the bell from Hidalgo’s church in Delores, which were moved from the church to Mexico’s National Palace. They usually start by saying (in Spanish, of course): “Mexicans! Long live the heroes who gave us our homeland!” After wishing long life to Hidalgo and several of his colleagues, they end by saying, “Long live the nation’s independence! Long Live Mexico! Long Live Mexico! Long Live Mexico!”

So there you have it, a stamp that honors what truly was a dangerous caravan of poor, disposed people that travelled through much of what is now Mexico.

Stay safe, be well, fight for justice, and work for peace.